PORTLAND, Maine — The owner of the El Faro, a cargo ship that sank Oct. 1 with 33 crew members aboard while traveling from Florida to Puerto Rico during Hurricane Joaquin, has settled claims with the families of 10 crew members, according to a notice filed in federal court in Florida.
TOTE Maritime, the vessel’s owner, will pay $500,000 plus economic loss damages to the families of each of the 10 crew members, including Capt. Michael Davidson, 53, of Windham.
Among 33 crew members lost aboard El Faro were five with Maine connections: Davidson of Windham, a 1988 graduate of Maine Maritime Academy; Michael Holland, 25, of Wilton, a 2012 graduate of Maine Maritime; Danielle Randolph, 34, also of Rockland and a 2004 graduate of Maine Maritime; and Dylan Meklin, 23, a 2010 graduate of Rockland District High School and a 2015 graduate of Maine Maritime. Another crew member, Mitchell Kuflik of Brooklyn, New York, graduated from Maine Maritime in 2011.
Davidson was the only crew member with Maine ties to be included in the recent claims settlement that involves the estates of 10 of the crew members.
Each estate agreed to receive the $500,000 for pain and suffering damages for those who died in the shipwreck, plus separate amounts not individually disclosed for economic losses, such as wages and benefits.
The estates of Keith Griffin, Piotr Krause, Roan Ronald Lightfoot, Marcin Nita, Jan Podgorski, Richard Pusatere, Howard Schoenly, Andrzej Truszkowski and Rafal Zdobych also agreed to the terms of the settlement disclosed Friday to the U.S. District Court in Florida.